WHAT TO BRING When traveling to Ethiopia, it is best to disregard typical traveling advice regarding money. Traveler's checks and credit cards are mostly useless in Ethiopia.

Traveler's checks are very hard to cash in Ethiopia, and will probably only work at big hotels like the Sheraton. You will be required to show the receipt as well as the actual traveler's check, thus negating some of the protection of traveler's checks.

Credit cards, likewise, will only be honored at the big hotels. You can get a cash advance on your credit card at the Sheraton, which is... more

Mary's Favorite 30 Minute Stirfry Serves 6

2 cups thin-sliced beef 2 T. sesame (or olive) oil 1 onion, sliced into long thin slices 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal 1 cup slivered cabbage 1 sweet pepper, sliced long and thin 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms 2 T. sugar 2 T. soy sauce 1/2 cup water 2 T. cornstarch 1 clove minced garlic sprinkle of sesame seeds, optional Cooked rice

Start rice cooking and slice meat and vegetables. Sprinkle beef with 1 T. sesame oil and mix oil through the beef with your hands. Stir fry beef in a hot skillet or wok until meat is just... more

One of the issues when considering adding to your family is the cost-- both the cost of the actual adoption, and the cost of the day to day needs of a larger clan. Because of this I thought that some people might like to hear how we keep costs down at our house.

I'll start with groceries. Here are the biggest things we do to keep our food budget around $600-$650 a month for 10 people:

COOK FROM SCRATCH

1.) I cook most things from scratch. I enjoy cooking and take pride in making food both affordable AND delicious. I do spaghetti, lots of Korean-type stirfry, Ethiopian... more

Adrienne shared on the Russia Adoption Blog how they were able to afford adoption. Since this is a big issue for most people, I wanted to share how it worked for us. Our family is a single-income family with a moderate income.

All 4 of our adoptions cost in the range of $15,000. This included agency fees, plane tickets, immigration paperwork, in-country costs, etc. With each of our adoptions we paid for at least two adult airfares, since each time either my husband or one of my older children came along with me.

Our first adoption was funded by refinancing our home. Due to fixing up and... more